662 



aircraft continue to grow in size and passenger capacity the numbers 

 wiped out in single disasters will likewise increase. Safety of mankind 

 and his environment, in the face of this growth of technological units, 

 calls for an increase in intergovernmental relations to enforce uni- 

 form standards of design reliability, uniform codes of operating be- 

 havior, and reasonable standards of environmental quality. It would 

 seem that closer international ties are postulated not only to construct 

 the supersize units of present and future technology but also to pro- 

 tect mankind and his world from their faults. 



Tlie Internationalization of Commercial Technologies 



Many international networks have been constructed that involve the 

 exploitation by private companies of innovative products with world 

 markets. Servan-Schreiber regards these networks as essentially Amer- 

 ican-built and American-dominated (thanks to the superior public 

 education, management training, and scientific infrastructure in the 

 United States). Being alien to Europe, these networks are also — in his 

 judgment — potentially inimical and divisive. 



Accepting the Servan-Schreiber thesis, and declaring the existence 

 of a "technological gap" between Western Europe and the United 

 States, Aurelio Peccei declares that technological change is bringing 

 about disruptions that threaten "assured and possibly total disaster." 

 He cited as the special advantages possessed by the United States in 

 achieving its superior technological posture in industry the following : 



U.S. lead in computer technology 



U.S. lead in atomic energy, aircraft, and space 



U.S. lead in comprehensive communications systems 



Greater U.S. effort in research and development 



Greater size of American firms, with superior profit picture 



Superior U.S. managerial skills 



The flow of European scientists to the United States 



Higher U.S. expenditures on education (especially technical) 



Mobility of movement geographically and institutionally 



Superior communications among and within institutions 



Absence of trade barriers within a large market area 



Flexibility and adaptability of social and economic institutions. 



According to Peccei, Americans refuse to admit to the existence of 

 this gap, and this conflict in views "has been a point of contention at 

 the comitless meetings and conference devoted to the subject in the last 

 few years." "2 



A rejoinder to the Servan-Schreiber thesis is presented by John B. 

 '"Rhodes, who declares that the capabilities of the industry of Western 

 Europe and the United States are both "being matched or surpassed 

 in many products by those of Japan," that many new manufacturing 

 centers were emerging outside the United States, that "There are few 

 goods available to the American consumer that are not produced at 

 competitive prices in Europe," and that on balance "the odds favor 

 a significant role for European industry even in those fields [such as 

 atomic energy and space] where it now seems far behind." 



In less limited fields, the resilience of industry in Europe has been remark- 

 able. . . . The European automobile industry is vital and growing even after 

 some .50 years of competition from General Motors and Ford. IBM has been 

 successful in Europe, but not noticeably more so than in the United States, and 

 is bound to face increasing competition in the years ahead both abroad and at 



iu> "xhe Transatlantic Cleavage — The Technological Gap." From the Atlantic Union. In 

 "The Transatlantic Cleavage — The Technological Gap." Extension of remarks of the 

 Hon. Howard W. Robison, Congressional Record, (September 30, 1970), pages ES785-89. 



